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“Did it hurt?”
Sirius ran his fingers gingerly around his freshly inked arm, pondering Peter’s question for a moment.
“I suppose it did while I was getting it but not anymore.”
“It’s wicked cool, mate.” James pipes up, his head right beside Sirius’ as he peers over his shoulder. “It changes with the phases, you said?”
Sirius nodded. It was one of the reasons he had decided to get this particular tattoo in the first place. The artist had charmed the ink to change with each moon phase. It took a long time, and Sirius had to go through each inking of each phase to get the right results, but it was totally worth it. He would be able to know exatly what the moon looked like in the sky and would be more prepared to help Remus with his monthly situation.
“When are you going to show him?” James asked.
“I don’t know. Do you think he’ll even like it? Is it too...obvious?”
“Well, it is the moon. I’d say that’s pretty obvious.” Peter said. James shoved him lightly.
“He doesn’t mean is the tattoo obvious. He means the implications of it.”
The implications James was referring to was of course Sirius’ new found feelings for their werewolf friend. He supposed the feelings had always been there but it was not until recently that Sirius really recognized what they were. He had fallen in love with Remus without realizing and now, he had gotten a permanent marking on his arm to remind him of it. If that wasn’t obvious, then what was? Which was why Sirius had been waiting to actually show Remus his tattoo, afraid of the reaction the werewolf might give him once he sees what it represents. It felt more...intimate than showing it to Peter or James.
“What are you guys looking at?”
James and Peter scrambled away from Sirius just as he yanked his sleeve down and turned to see Remus standing in the entry way of their dorm with a curious expression.
“Hey, Moony.” James said with a wave, trying to ease the sudden tension in the room. “Where have you been?”
“Rounds with Lily. What were you guys looking at?” Remus pushed forward, the look on his face becoming more suspicious than curious now and Peter let out a little squeak. James continued to grab at Remus’ attention.
“Lily, you said? Where is she? Is she down in the common room?”
Remus ignored James’ chatter, finally stopping right in front of Sirius. He raised an eyebrow and Sirius did his best to put on a passive look.
“How can I help you, Moons?”
“I’ll go down to the common room with you, James.” Peter said, clearly not wanting to be a fly on the wall for whatever was about to happen once Remus found out what Sirius had done. James let out a sigh, and lead Peter out of the dorm, acknowledging defeat.
The door shut with a soft click and Remus continued to look at Sirius expectantly. Sirius felt very vulnerable suddenly. Would Remus be angry at him? Would he be embarrassed? Remus was never really good at understanding when people cared about him and it took the Marauders years to convince him that the things they did for him were not out of pity—especially Sirius. Everything Sirius did was because he loved Remus.
“Pads,” Remus whispered, pulling Sirius out of his head. “What are you hiding?”
Knowing that he couldn’t lie to Remus forever, Sirius pulled the sleeve of his shirt up hesitantly before holding his arm up for Remus to see. For a moment, there was nothing to indicate how Remus felt as he stared down at the dark ink littering Sirius’ skin, and then, very softly, Remus reached out with his fingers to trace the half moon that was a mirror image of the one in the sky. Sirius watched as awe and understanding flickered in Remus’ face as he glanced from the tattoo to the sky.
“It matches.” Remus whispered.
“Yeah.” Sirius said, finally finding his voice. “It, uh, it changes. With each phase. That way I can...well I can know how you’re feeling each day. I know you get a bit weak during the days closer to the moon and now I’ll be able to see and watch out for those days and I can...I don’t know...make them easier for you.”
He trailed off, waiting for Remus to say something but the other boy stayed silent, still idly tracing his scarred fingers across the ink. Sirius shivered slightly under his touch, his heart beating faster and faster in his chest. He wondered if Remus could hear it, but if he could, he gave no indication.
“You did this for me?”
“Of course.” Sirius answered immediately. “I’m sorry if you don’t like it. I just—“
“No, I...I do like it.” Remus said, an odd expression on his face. “It’s strange how much I like it.”
“Moons?”
“It looks so beautiful on your skin.” Remus whispered and Sirius’ heart stuttered.
The fingers gripping his arm suddenly felt tighter and warmer around his wrist and he knew Remus could feel his pulse racing. Sirius stayed completely still, not daring to move as Remus’ hand trailed higher and higher up Sirius’ arm, before coming to rest behind his neck. Amber eyes burned into Sirius’ gray ones and the tension in the room suddenly shifted into something much more.
“Why did you do it?”
“What?”
“Why did you get the tattoo?”
“I told you, Moons. So I can know—“
“The real reason, Sirius.” Remus’ voice was barley a whisper. Sirius let out a shaky breath into the air he was practically sharing with Remus at this point.
“I think you know.”
And then Remus’ lips were crashing against his own, as if he had lost control and could not longer hold back. Sirius’ own arms flung around Remus, pulling him closer and clinging on for dear life. It was exhilarating, the taste of Remus’ mouth against his and the feeling of euphoria that was filling up his chest. It was as if they had been doing this forever with how perfectly they fit against one another and how right it felt. Sirius wanted it to last forever but eventually they parted, panting and staring heavily at each other.
“Well,” Sirius breathed after a moment, “If this is the reaction I’m going to get, I’ll have to get more tattoos.”